Propps Character Theory

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic in the 1920's who was interested in the narrative of folk tales. He noticed that Folk Tales were similar in many ways. One of which was that they all had the same stock characters. He identified that characters have a narrative function and they provide a structure for the text.

He analysed over 100 Russian fairy tales to make this correct theory. He found that he could identify what the character is, what its personality is and their role in the film. This theory is useful because it can identify similarities between films that may be very different, although it has a weakness as this theory only applied to fairy tales so it is hard to put this in to modern films.


Vladimir believed that there were seven different characters that make the function:

The Hero- (traditionally male) The character who embarks upon a quest and is always the centre of action. They usually drive the narrative forward so that there is a conclusion at the end where he/she will receive some kind of reward, this is where Propp suggests this is going to be the Princess. A simple example of this is 'superman'.

The Villain - This character makes the film exciting and more interesting to follow. They usually plot obstacles to stop the hero from achieving what he/she wants. The villain is not necessarily male or female so has a chance of being either. This character often also wants to seek to achieve a reward of some sort. An example of this character is The Joker in the film 'Batman'

The Helper - (also known as 'The Donor'). This character is there to help the hero achieve their mission/quest by providing vital information or an object. An example of this is the Fairy Godmother in the film 'Cinderella'.

The Dispatcher - This character sends the hero on his/her journey and are often used for guidance and reasons. This character is thought to be wise and sometimes to have magical powers. Although they would not be able to achieve this quest without the hero. An example of this character is Yoda from 'Star Wars' as he helps Luke Skywalker.

The False Hero - This character is like the villain but instead wants to take the glory from the hero so that it looks like they are the good one who achieved all the work. This character is sometimes perceived as good but near the end of the narrative we realise they are bad. An example of this is the two sisters in the film 'Cinderella', they pretend to be the princess when really they are not.

The Princess - This character is most threatened by the villain and is usually saved after climax from the hero. This character is usually the main quest of the narrative or even the reward for the hero.In modern films this may not always be a female. An example of this character is the daughter in the film 'Taken', she is saved by her father, 'The Hero'.

The Father - This character is nearly always the father of the princess in the narrative. This character can be linked with the dispatcher as it is usually the father who send the hero on his mission to find his daughter, the princess. In modern day films the father character can disapprove of the hero who brings back his daughter where as in older narratives the father would have got on well with the hero. This charater links with the hero in the film 'Taken'.

This theory would be really useful in our own film in the way it makes it easier to set the characters out and make them link so that it helps the narrative flow better. This is going to help with our overall story and ideas.